Holiday Sewing

I had a million sewing projects to complete this holiday season and only got around to a few. One was the quilt, another a quilted table runner (That wouldn't you know, I forgot to take a picture of).


Also to do were these matching pajama pants. I had a pattern that called for 1 5/8 yd for a child size 3. I thought that was a lot and when I pulled out the pattern... wow, it was like for a size 3 elephant. So I used some existing pants as a pattern, and got two pairs out of a yard and a half of fabric.

I was rushing to finish this Christmas dress and totally took shortcuts on the zipper. This is why I am not taking pictures of the back of the dress :). I chopped it too short and ended up having to use my lining to add an extra band at the bottom. It worked out ok. The munchkin looked so pretty in it.

Then, I HAD to do something with a sweater I had that just fit... terribly. I saw this and knew I had to try it. I used a 4T dress as a pattern so it is kind of big. But all the better- she can grow into it! :)

I don't think she cared that it was too big. She just kept dancing. Mike was totally impressed and is set on hitting up Goodwill to find more sweaters.

Did you get all your holiday crafting/sewing done? I have a whole box of unfinished projects... but that's ok!

2010 will bring some changes to my blog. I told Mike I wanted to get more readers and he said, "Well, why don't you just put pictures of me all over it?" Ha ha... So, in order to say I always consider his advice:

Happy New Years!

A Christmas Quilt

This Christmas gift was probably more appropriate for a baby shower, but I just couldn't help myself. I got the Sock Monkey fabric for half off at a FQS and ran with it. My sister is expecting her first baby, and the first boy on my side, so I'm super excited. This labor of love is a testament as to how excited I am:

I did off-center blocks and fussy-cut the centers so there would be a monkey in each. Although in one I made sure to center it on the monkey's bottom. You need to understand my family to get that one :). I used the sock monkey polka-dot as the binding (same as some of the blocks), Kona cotton in white for sashing, and a really large-scale yellow sock monkey print for the back. Sorry I forgot a picture for that! It is fun.

I practiced and practiced my free-motion until I got the swirly pattern down well enough. I had a problem with the bobbin not catching and realized I was using cheap thread. Darn. So I invested in good thread and I didn't have a single problem.

Before we wrapped it up we tested it out with my scooter. It is plenty big for a wiggly baby, perfect for a snug wrap, and will fit on a toddler bed someday. Definitely drool worthy. This baby thought so.

Thanks to Alissa for the pattern and tut. I only changed the size of the sashing on the top and bottom to match the sides so it would be nice and symmetrical for a off-center quilt :). I don't get myself either...

Not bad for Quilt #4!

What a holiday!

Did everyone have as splendid of a holiday as I had? We had tons of fun playing in the snow in New Mexico. Despite the fact that I didn't have snowboots for the munchkin and had to pull off my own socks on one occassion to warm some frozen toes.

While there, Mike recruited followers for his agenda that our stockings were too large. I used Simplicity pattern 4842 (great pattern!) a few years back and made three matching stockings. And, yes, they are big (I made the biggest size, I think), but I like them! Everyone was joking around... and then Mike did this:


Okay, okay, so they are big. But someday I'll have a home with a big fireplace mantle and these big boys will be perfect. I'm just planning ahead :).

Lucky for Mike, I knew he would tease about the stockings and I used scraps from the project (do YOU save scraps for 3 years???) to make a mini stocking. I had intended on using it for the baby, but he was the one complaining. As you can see from the above picture, there was no complaining from her end!

So there you have it, now we have a family of three large stockings and the mini stocking. And the mini held the traditional Christmas orange, a candy bar, and would accomodate a pack of batteries just fine. Hope you like it, Mike!

Season's Greetings

Our family made the trip to New Mexico for Christmas this year to be with Mike's family. We are here enjoying a little bit of a white christmas... the real kind. I did get everything done, even if I had to put binding on a quilted table runner while we were driving. No I can relax and enjoy the festivities. Mike is glad to be with his family, even with his bum leg- which didn't end up being broken THANK GOODNESS. No basketball games on this trip!

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Holiday! I'll return to blogland when everything winds down!

A Good Craftertunity

There is this really drool-worthy product out there called the L Letterpress that I have been dreaming about since its release earlier this year. Lifestyle crafts is giving one away right now through the 21st of December.

Just lookie at these baby shower announcements L Letterpress creator Michelle made with it. She does some cool stuff!

A Christmas Cookie

So... like I've mentioned before, I don't like to cook. But baking sometimes has an exception. I saw this post (Can you just imagine a birthday party with these?) and this recipe and got super excited about some Christmas Cookies.

Instead of using four colors like the recipe says, I only used three. Well, two food coloring colors, really- red and green. I rolled them with the regular cookie dough and made candy canes and Christmas Wreaths.


Near the end I realized I had more red than the others and started putting little red balls on the wreaths. They remind me of Rudolph's nose, although I was going for a holly berry. Not to be confused with Halle Berry. In case you were wondering.

I wrapped up a few in a clear gift bag and tied it off with a ribbon, bell (mom, I can't believe you were giving these to DI. Look how useful they are!), and mini ornament. Voila! I am a domestic holiday goddess.

A few changes I would like to try next time:

1. Actually chill the dough like the recipe says. Patience is a virtue I do not have.

2. Sprinkle some large sugar crystals or something on the top before I bake it. Although the cookie itself was yummy and pretty, it needed a little oomph. Maybe even pipe on a little tiny line of frosting between stripes. Mebbe.

3. Not walk away from the dough while it is in tempting little balls in front of the 2-year-old. I'm sure this recipe can get 3 dozen cookies... I was a few short. :)

Give it a try!

8 days and counting... Houston, we have a problem.

Do you feel like time is running out for Christmas Preparations? I do. I have a bazillion projects to complete, and start, before next week. These things are impossible to do with babies around. Let me tell ya! Every time I sit down to work on something I bounce back up again to nurse, be a horsey, fetch crackers and milk, and then nurse again. Whew! I told Mike I need a day off just to finish my projects. We're doing a lot of handmade Christmas this year. Alas, I think things are going to get worse, as Mike just headed to the doc's to see if he broke his leg. Yes. I know.

In the meantime, while I struggle to keep my head above water, I'm thinking about White Christmases. No, not this kind of White Christmas:

(image from my cell phone when I was a student at BYU. Name that snowman!)

I'm talking this kind of White Christmas. The indoors type.

image via here

and thisimage via here

And some stuff like this

image via here

My husband wants a blue and white theme someday. I would love it as well. I already have some blue and white decor for that far-off day but this is just sa-weet.

image via here

Anyway, I am being summoned to "come see! come see!" Good luck with holiday craziness!

Closet separators

My girls share a room right now. Not a problem, considering they are just 2 and 6 months. And lucky for me, my 2-year old sleeps like a rock and doesn't wake up when the baby cries at night. But with helping my oldest with some independence, I realized that she needs a distinction between her stuff and the baby's stuff. I decided to make some closet separators so she can find her section and choose clothes from there.

I simply started with a wood door hanger from Hobby Lobby (99 cents) and some craft paint in two different colors. I had my oldest pick the colors and she wanted pink and blue. So Pink and Blue it is.

I had to do a few coats... especially after my munchkin started painting the pink hanger with the blue paintbrush. :)


After it dried, I used a paint pen to draw my girls' initials and some decorative flourishes onto the handles. I just traced lightly some letters with a pencil and filled it in with the paint pen. You could always use scrapbooking stickers, chipboard, or anything else.

Let's just ignore the fact that the B initial looks like the Budweiser logo. I do not endorse any relationship between alcoholic beverages and 2-year-olds :). Just princesses and 2-year-olds.


All I need to do now is slip these on to the rod in the closet and hang the clothes up in their appropriate section. I also think some rhinestones will be seeing these in the near future. Easy peasy.

When the kid wants to paint

My munchkin wanted to paint with me the other day (I was painting a big piece of wood...) and it suddenly came to me that she could make her own t-shirt. Yes, I know she's 2. But I take risks :)

I had a couple of white Hanes t-shirts lying around that I was going to use a while ago but didn't. Sound familiar? Anyway, we busted open the pack, cut Christmas Tree shapes out of freezer paper, and got painting. The munchkin LOVED it. So much, in fact, that I pulled out a white onesie for the baby and had her do another Christmas tree on that.

We had a church party on Saturday night, and by then, both shirts were nice and dry. I quickly sewed a jingle bell to the top of the munchkin's Christmas tree and we were off! Simple, easy, fun to do together. I had plans to put red puffy paint ornaments and fabric glitter garlands and all this fun stuff, but decided to keep it as is. The munchkin was too proud of her tree. She was also very fast... so the only picture I got was with Santa, but you have a good imagination, I am sure!

On a more personal note

(Ken, I stole this picture from your blog. Because you captured Skylar.)

It seems to me like during this holiday season, we are closer to our families. We are always close, even our extended family. This year, our family has come even closer for tragic reasons- my cousin Kari lost her husband Skylar, a Tempe, AZ firefighter, in a camping accident this past Monday (video clip here). These last few days have been full of calls, e-mails, and hugs back and forth between all members of our extended family and her close friends wishing Kari well with her three young children. I didn't call. I didn't visit. I didn't know what to do, what to say, how to look at her in the eyes when I knew she was hurting so. So I just sat on my couch and cried. I cried for Kari, for her baby girl who won't know her daddy in person. I cried because sometimes, life doesn't seem all that fair. I cried because I knew I was blessed and that the Lord doesn't leave us comfortless. And then I cried because I was afraid to do or say anything to be that comforter.

But, today, I will say something.

Saturday I attended the funeral for Skylar. I have never been so in awe at well-wishers. The church where the funeral was held was filled to capacity- the main chapel was full, with members of Tempe fire department and Tempe police department filling the choir seats and side pews. The overflow area was packed with people both standing and sitting. Rooms in the church had more chairs with closed-circuit television broadcasting the service for more people to see. He was an impressive man, and to see all those people gathered together, it was clear that more people considered him an icon of goodness than just I.

It is also clear that many have reached out to Kari and her family at this time. The casket that held Skylar was donated by a custom coffin company in Phoenix. He was laid to rest in a shiny, fire-engine red coffin complete with miniature ladders, axes, chrome siding and reflectors, with his engine number and paramedic/firefighting insignia emblazoned across the lid. His small children, all under the age of 5, and even the rest of us, could not help but smile at the thought of Skylar being held in nothing less than a small reproduction of his fire engine.

Kari's children commented to their grandpa (my uncle) that their house was the only one on the street that wasn't lit up at night. The next morning, Skylar's firefighting companions bedecked his family's home with cheery twinkly lights.

Kari's close friends took her under their wings and helped her doll up for the funeral. She was radiant. She was hopeful. She was a pillar of strength for all of us in attendance. She wore a small, unforced smile that told us that she knew she would see Skylar again.

Even though the funeral is over, the reality of her loss is not. She is now a single mother of three young children. This Christmas, they won't have their dad with them. But they can know that we love them. And that their community loves them.

Chili's restaurants around Arizona are delighted to help in the Stock Family cause. This Thursday, December 17th, 10% of your tab will go towards a fund to help Kari and her children. They have a coupon you can use or you can simply mention the Stock Family Fund in order to take part in the generosity. I think this is a great gesture on the part of Chili's. You can call your local Chili's and see if they are participating... I know the one near me isn't, but I am willing to make the drive to somewhere that is.

I love Kari, I love her ability to mourn with the surety that families are forever. I love that she loves being a mother to her children. I hope some of you can make it to Chili's this week. I hope that some of you are actually in Arizona! But mostly, I hope we can all hug our loved ones a little tighter today. Give them an extra wet kiss. And together, thank Heavenly Father for our blessings and for His Son, and for the promise of Eternal Life with our families.

Thanks for letting me speak. Kari, I love you and pray for you. You rock.



p.s. if you can't make it to Chili's but still would like to contribute, there is a paypal account set up for the Stock Family here.

Winner of the Christmas Coal Sack!

Hello everyone! Thanks for your comments, I really enjoyed reading them and seeing a few new people hop on the blog.

And the winner is... #4- Naptime Journal!!! E-mail me (I don't have your e-mail!) and I'll send it to you ASAP!

Boon Companions

I'm not sure why that title popped into my head. Maybe because these dolls remind me somewhat of Anne of Green Gables sitting there on the chair all buddy-buddy-like. Minus the red hair and freckles... but blonde with striped stockings is a good alternative.

I made these lovelies using this pattern. Easy peasy. Cute. Fast. LOVE IT.

Perhaps a few more will surface before the holidays are over...

Christmas pillowcase

Looking for the Christmas Coal Sack giveaway? Go HERE!

My two-year-old loves her pillow. But, in order for her to sleep on it, it has to have either my Christmas pillowcase my mom made for me YEARS ago, or a pillowcase that belonged to my mother-in-law when she was first married. Yeah. So, for some reason the munchkin likes the oddities in our linen closet.

Last night my husband TOOK ME to Jo Ann's. ASKED me to tell him where to find cottons (well, he said Cheap Fabric). And STARTED BROWSING. Incredible, I know. And dang sexy too. Turns out his motive was to pick fabric to make out little girl a new pillowcase. We asked her what fabric she liked most and of course, picks out the most sparkly, most expensive one in the lot. I suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree there. We herded her toward the sale fabric and she picked (with some helpful encouragement from her dad) a sweet snowman print.

So, it turns out Mike's motive was that he had a Christmas pillowcase growing up and loved it... until his brother threw up on it... and wanted to continue that tradition (minus the throwing up part, I am sure). We went home and made a new Christmas pillowcase. Mike was my awesome photographer :)

To begin, you need:

1 yd main fabric

2 1/2" x 20" of contrast fabric

Sewing supplies

iron

We took an existing pillowcase and used it as a template. It was about 24" long from the bottom to where the folded opening started, so we cut at 25" x 20" for seam allowance.

Then, I measured the existing folded opening part (about 4") and made a cut in the main fabric 8" x 20"

Then I cut my contrast fabric at 2 1/2" x 20"

(If you don't care for a snug pillowcase, just cut everything its length x width of fabric. This is what I did to speed up the process.)

(This picture is of the template pillowcase inside out, with the opening flap turned down)
We used my serger at the last second, but a regular sewing machine is just fine. There just wasn't room in my closet to have all of us in there! Anyway, we sewed the main body first, right sides together and raw edges, along the bottom and raw side. A 1/2" seam allowance is super.

Next I sewed the contrast fabric's short ends together (right sides together- my husband caught me sewing it wrong and pointed it out to me. My heart went pitter-pat at that. Totally hot!) and the open flap's short sides together.

Iron the contrast fabric in half hot-dog style, wrong sides together. Do the same for the flap fabric.

And yes, I know, my hands are a phlebotomist's dream. (Mike wanted to get a picture with my ring in it, since I rarely wear it. Pshaw, husbands)

Pin everything together, matching seams and raw edges. Make a sandwich- main fabric, right side out, then contrast fabric, then the flap fabric.


Sew around using a 1/2" seam allowance or serge like I did. Turn it right side out, iron it out for a professional finished look, and put it on your pillow. Voila- a new, highly exciting pillowcase for a picky child! And totally easy.

I think on the next one I make, I will add prairie points (see how to make those here) instead of a contrast band. HOW CUTE would that be? Alas, I only had 20 minutes for this pillowcase, since it was already 8:30 when we started! You can make it even FASTER by not adding the contrasting band (Mike said, when I was all done, "I would have just sewn a big rectangle together, but you always have to be fancy). Just cut a 32 1/2" x wof piece and sew a 4" hem at the opening. But yes, I like fancy. :)

Now if she'd just GO TO BED, we could see how it fares!